Which animals **not stressed by people** can have people entering their habitats?

[AirToob]

Apart from Indian Peafowl, I recently discovered by accident the Japanese Macaques, whose walk-in enclosure in my first try at a franchise zoo is proving wildly popular and profitable. Guests seem to love walk-ins.

Is their any way of (say) filtering Zoopedia for animals that meet *both* criteria?

If not, then could there be, and/or could some kind person point me at such a list, or at least a way of finding out?

(I realise you can also have drive-through rides, but that's not quite the same.)

[audiolady]

Yes, please explain. trains through the lions was great, now I want a walk-through habitat for some of the other big cats!

[iorhael]

My koalas and kangaroos don't mind people in their habitat.

[Maffeketel]

Originally posted by AirToob:

Originally posted by Maffeketel:

You can actually create an alternative walk-in habitat for any animal by making a raised walkway or bridge within the perimeter of the habitat. This will count as a walk-in habitat and it allows you to create walk-in habitats that house predators. I've used this concept in my saltwater crocodile habitat and the guests absolutely love it.

I hope that this answers your question!

I understand about finding suitable characteristics in Zoopedia, although I'm still puzzled about how animals like Sable Antelope are stressed by people watching, even if those people are in the influence area of a "Do Not Disturb" (keep quiet) sign.

In your walk-in habitat suggestion, do the guests enter via a guest gate?

There are multiple ways to create suitable habitats for skittish animals like the okapi or the sable antelope. It's always a good idea to create areas for these animals that are sheltered and covered in such a way that the guests can not see them and where they can safely retreat. You can accomplish this by creating a building as a shelter or by providing a shelter that lies around a corner. Always make sure that the animal has a safe and quiet place where it can isolate itself from the guests.

Signs can help but theyre only a minor solution to the problem. Issues with stressed animals are almost always caused by the layout of your habitat. One way glass is a much more effective solution and creating screening plants helps as well. This doesn't solve the stress caused by the noise that the guests make however. There is no surefire way to reduce noise but the most effective way to solve this problem is by creating multiple view points around the habitat combined with larger paths so that the guests can spread out. A large amounts of guests in a small area will stress out a lot of animals as they produce a lot of noise even when there are signs present.

The guests do not have to enter through a guest gate to create a walk-in habitat. I simply create an elevated path or bridge that lies within the confines of the habitat. As long as the raised path is in the habitat itself it will count as a walk-in habitat for the guests. Their thoughts will say something along the lines of ; I can't believe that I'm in the salwater crocodile habitat!

I made a saltwater crocodile habitat where the guests walk along a wooden bridge above the water. This habitat counts as a walk-in habitat and it's one of the most popular habitats in my zoo for that reason.

I hope that this helps!

[AirToob]

Originally posted by Maffeketel:

The guests do not have to enter through a guest gate to create a walk-in habitat. I simply create an elevated path or bridge that lies within the confines of the habitat. As long as the raised path is in the habitat itself it will count as a walk-in habitat for the guests. Their thoughts will say something along the lines of ; I can't believe that I'm in the salwater crocodile habitat!

I made a saltwater crocodile habitat where the guests walk along a wooden bridge above the water. This habitat counts as a walk-in habitat and it's one of the most popular habitats in my zoo for that reason.

I hope that this helps!

All the info provided in your comment was brilliant. Thanks.

Question on this last part:

I have several habitats where an elevated path starts climbing outside the habitat, crosses the habitat (including water areas inside it) and then descends on the other side. Is this what you are describing? I have never heard a comment from a guest such as you describe. My elevated path just seems to be another (quite successful) viewing area, as well as counting towards any "hard shelter" requirement. My elevated path is at least twice as high off the ground within the habitat as the surrounding barriers, is that the problem?

[Maffeketel]

Originally posted by AirToob:

Originally posted by Maffeketel:

The guests do not have to enter through a guest gate to create a walk-in habitat. I simply create an elevated path or bridge that lies within the confines of the habitat. As long as the raised path is in the habitat itself it will count as a walk-in habitat for the guests. Their thoughts will say something along the lines of ; I can't believe that I'm in the salwater crocodile habitat!

I made a saltwater crocodile habitat where the guests walk along a wooden bridge above the water. This habitat counts as a walk-in habitat and it's one of the most popular habitats in my zoo for that reason.

I hope that this helps!

All the info provided in your comment was brilliant. Thanks.

Question on this last part:

I have several habitats where an elevated path starts climbing outside the habitat, crosses the habitat (including water areas inside it) and then descends on the other side. Is this what you are describing? I have never heard a comment from a guest such as you describe. My elevated path just seems to be another (quite successful) viewing area, as well as counting towards any "hard shelter" requirement. My elevated path is at least twice as high off the ground within the habitat as the surrounding barriers, is that the problem?

If you click on the habitat you'll see the most common guest thoughts about that habitat. If the habitats counts as a walk-in habitat you'll see it here. I recommend checking there first.

If your guests do not see this as a walk-in habitat then it could be for a multitude of reasons. The path that I made starts to rise within the habitat itself and the guests are seperated from the saltwater crocodiles by a wall of rocks. I used the null barrier to mark the rocks as a habitat barrier but the path itself already starts within the confines of the habitat. My barriers are situated below the path. The walkway that I made covers the entire length of the habitat before descending again towards the other side.

I used a similar principle for a gharial habitat. I made a stone bridge that crosses a river section within the habitat and this bridge also counts as a walk-in section.

It might be caused by the height of the path but it's hard to say. Your barrier could also be the issue. It could be any number of reasons so it might take some tinkering.
Some of the mechanics in this game are a bit finnicky sometimes.

[Jendowoz]

Yes they do, but even animals such as the tortoises can get stressed if there are too many guests watching. This is where the new barriers just brought out can help if you plan your walk-in habitats well.

[Varick]

Originally posted by AirToob:

Originally posted by Varick:

For predators, I use a null field/path/non transversable /animal set up and it works the same as a walk-in.

Could you explain that in a bit more detail? Thanks!

Anything that works as a nontransversable (terrain, construction pieces, plants, rocks, etc.) for the species will work . For the easiest example, say you build a pit habitat for African Wild Dogs with a path overlook. Just use a null field on the outside of the path and the guests will be happy because they are in the habitat and, thus, also happier because they consider it a great view. No guest gate is needed.

[Bullwinkle]

I've had some animals that are supposedly neutral to humans become stressed by humans. So take that rating with a grain of salt. I think when the Zoopedia says guests can enter, all that means is the animal won't eat the guest, not a guarantee the animal will be happy.

[audiolady]

But just think about how much money you could save by putting a walkthrough path in a carnivore habitat!

[AirToob]

Originally posted by Varick:

Anything that works as a nontransversable (terrain, construction pieces, plants, rocks, etc.) for the species will work . For the easiest example, say you build a pit habitat for African Wild Dogs with a path overlook. Just use a null field on the outside of the path and the guests will be happy because they are in the habitat and, thus, also happier because they consider it a great view. No guest gate is needed.

Is a "null field" the same as a null barrier?

[Varick]

Yes

[AirToob]

Originally posted by Jendowoz:

Yes they do, but even animals such as the tortoises can get stressed if there are too many guests watching. This is where the new barriers just brought out can help if you plan your walk-in habitats well.

I understand that the new barriers can prevent (or discourage) guests from passing a certain line. Could you give me an example of how they could be used to reduce the number of guests watching in a walk-in habitat, assuming that they want to use the full length of the path(s) inside the habitat? Thanks!

[Jendowoz]

If the animals can pass from one side to the other side on the guest path, this can cause problems. I usually make a larger than recommended habitat so the animals can get away. I also set up an overhead area for the animals to cross or an underground area for the animals (depending on what they are) to get to the other side and I set up the gates to be open at my discretion, using the barriers at other times to prevent too many guests coming in and then remove them when the zoo looks a little quieter. I also give them exhibits and other conservation education to look at close by so not all guests are going in there at once, so there are other things of interest for them to see close by. I also make the paths wider in parts so they are more spread out and can set up a wall with 1-way glass along an edge further away from the animals and that helps too. Another thing is to set up an area for the animals to get away from the crowds. In my pea-fowl habitat walk-in I have added rocks in a small area along the edge of their water so they can swim around behind them un-noticed. That seemed to fix the stress levels. Some of the guests complain about the view but it's the animals that I'm most concerned with. It does see a bottleneck sometimes but the wider paths helped here.

[AirToob]

Originally posted by Jendowoz:

If the animals can pass from one side to the other side on the guest path, this can cause problems, so what I usually do is either set up an overhead area for the animals to cross or an underground area for the animals (depending on what they are) to get to the other side and I set up the gates to be open at my discretion, using the barriers at other times to prevent too many guests coming in and then remove them when the zoo looks a little quieter. I also give them exhibits and other conservation education to look at close by so not all guests are going in there at once, so there are other things of interest for them to see close by. I also make the paths wider in parts so they are more spread out. Another thing is to set up an area for the animals to get away from the crowds. In my pea-fowl habitat walk-in I have added rocks on the edge of a small area along the edge of their water so they can swim around there un-noticed. That seemed to fix the stress levels. Some of the guests complain about the view but it's the animals that I'm most concerned with. It does see a bottleneck sometimes but the wider paths helped here.

Once again, thanks for this most helpful info!

[Jendowoz]

You are very welcome, AirToob